Google's next smartphone could massively undercut the soaring prices of most modern phones: rumors point to the Pixel 3a coming in at just $400.

That's less than half the price of Apple's iPhone XS, which starts at $1,000, and nearly half the price of Apple's less expensive iPhone XR, which starts at $750.

The latest rumor on the Pixel 3a price comes from This is Tech Today, a YouTube channel that was sent what looks like official packaging for the upcoming Pixel phone.

The Pixel 3a showed up in a hands-on video months ago — one version has a light purple model with a neon green button. YouTube/Andro News

According to the channel, the Pixel 3a starts at $400 and the larger Pixel 3a XL starts at $480.

Moreover, the channel says that the new phones will arrive on May 7 — concurrent with Google's upcoming developer conference, I/O.

The price and release date are the latest in an ongoing torrent of rumors about Google's next Pixel smartphone. The device was given the hands-on treatment way back in January, and reports about its specs and features have popped up frequently in the months since.

If the rumors are true, the Pixel 3a could help re-energize Google's ailing smartphone efforts.

In the company's most recent earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told investors that sales of the Pixel 3 smartphone were lower than those of the previous year's Pixel 2 — a measure of "year-on-year headwinds," he said.

Notably, the Pixel 3 was more expensive than the previous year's device, and it faced stiffer competition at a higher price point that could have pushed away potential buyers. With the Pixel 3a potentially coming in at a much lower price point, Google could push back on those "headwinds."

For now, we're still waiting on an official confirmation from Google of the details — representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.